The Royal Wedding last year, the Diamond Jubilee in June and the more recent London Olympics has created a British fever all over the world. Now that the festivities are over, what next? Have you considered having your wedding in the UK – a country full of history and charm? It may be a good 12-hour flight from Hong Kong but Carmen at Carmen Weddings may be able to lend you a helping hand. Based in the UK, Carmen’s Chinese heritage means that she understands the ins and outs of Chinese customs as well as the formalities in Western weddings. Rest assured, she will be in regular contact with you to provide updates, arrange bookings and she will always personally coordinate the wedding day. Just relax.
To give you an idea of what the wedding planning process is like….
Where do you get your inspiration?
The bride and groom. Sometimes a bride already has a firm idea of what she does or doesn’t love but a lot of the time, we talk about their interests and work – where they’ve travelled to, what they like to do in their spare time and what is their biggest enjoyment out of work. With this, I get a very good picture of what would appeal to them. Then I can start building on designs which we then bring to life for their wedding day.
Typically, how far in advance do you advise couples to approach you or start the planning process before their big day?
Every wedding is different but I recommend a year. This allows a good amount of time to break down what needs to be done every month and we can book the most suitable vendors for the wedding they have in mind.
As you know, Chinese families can be quite traditional and there are quite a number of customs to follow; if a couple isn’t keen on it, but their parents are, what would you advice be?
I would recommend that the couple and parents sit down and discuss exactly what everyone wants for the wedding day right from the beginning. If parents insist on certain traditions on the day and the couple really isn’t keen, maybe it’s worth compromising, like carry out some and not all traditions. In my experience, most couples are happy to have some of the traditions in respect of their parents and culture.
What are the main differences between a Chinese wedding and a western wedding?
A Western wedding sometimes is known to brides as the ‘white wedding’ which may include a traditional Wedding Breakfast followed by evening entertainment of music and dance. Today we see weddings which are much more unique and design led; such as weddings in the forest, in a barn or an intimate soiree in an art gallery. A Chinese wedding may begin with the groom ‘fetching the bride’, Door Games, the Chinese Tea Ceremony and the Chinese Wedding Banquet – this could mean a huge banquet with a very large number of guests! My next wedding is a traditional Chinese wedding with a total of 600 guests.
Photo credit: Jade Alana Photography
What’s your favourite wedding that you’ve worked on?
A couple I worked for had booked me for wedding co-ordination but it will always stand out as it was a wedding over 3 exquisite city venues. Every venue had unique styling, it was an intimate celebration and was simply amazing in every way. I worked very closely with the couple over many months as there were so many details to take into consideration. You can see this beautiful wedding ‘Stylish and Intimate Affair’ at Carmen Weddings.
